Legendary Swiss climber cremated near Everest

Tengboche : The body of legendary Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who died on Mount Everest, was cremated on Thursday at a Buddhist monastery that lies in the shadow of the world's highest peak.

Steck -- one of the most feted mountaineers of his generation -- became the first fatality of this year's spring season on Everest when he fell from a ridge during an acclimatisation climb on Sunday.

The climber's body was flown by helicopter on Thursday to the Tengboche Monastery that lies on the trail to the peaks that claimed his life.

Steck's wife Nicole and close family members arrived with the body from Kathmandu for the Buddhist funeral ceremony, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. They had flown to Nepal earlier this week.

Steck's body was carried from the helipad to the cremation site a few hundred metres from the monastery, which is surrounded by sheer Himalayan peaks including Everest's towering 8,848 metre (29,030 feet) summit.

The family surrounded the funeral pyre as it was lit, and monks in flowing maroon ropes offered prayers and played music.

A number of climbers were expected to trek down from Everest base camp -- some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Tengboche -- to attend the cremation, according to Nimesh Karki of Seven Summits, a trekking company that helped Steck organise his Everest attempt. It was unclear if any had arrived in time for the ceremony.